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MANASSAS, Va. — A Virginia man will spend 16 years in prison for using a video chat website to produce child pornography, victimizing around 1,000 girls as young as 7 years old.
According to the Department of Justice, the investigation into 21-year-old Anthony Benton began after he bought child pornography using Telegram, an encrypted, cloud-based messaging service.
When officials searched his home, they learned Benton had been using Omegle, a free online video chat website that randomly pairs people to chat with strangers one on one. Benton reportedly used the website to make child pornography since 2020.
Officials say Benton engaged in sexual live video calls with approximately 1,000 girls between the ages of 7 and 17 years old. He screen-recorded and saved more than 70 of these videos without the victims knowing.
In one of these videos, Benton can be seen texting a 10-year-old, lying to her and claiming he is 15 years old. When she tells him she is 10, he promises their sexual conversation was “[J]ust between us.”
In addition to making the videos, Benton also purchased others over Telegram, watching the abuse of children as young as 5 years old.
Benton was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child sexual abuse material.
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